It can be configured to two modes – Ground Mode, where it can only target ground troops at a 14 tile range, or Ground and Air, where it can target both ground and air units at a 11 tile range.

Defensive Strategy

A well-placed and loaded X-Bow will dominate attacks, but to be most effective it should not be used as a front-line defense. With the second longest range of any damage-dealing defense, it is best placed behind all other defenses, typically in the center of a base.

Remember to refill your X-Bow with Elixir. An unloaded X-Bow is not only a waste of space, it is a good indicator that your base may be neglected, encouraging others to raid you.

Although the X-Bow shoots rapidly, each shot causes only a relatively small amount of damage. Support it with powerful defenses (such as Mortars) so it can quickly take out your enemies.

The dominance of Balloon and Minion oriented attacks at this level both in Clan Wars and regular raids make a strong case for keeping X-Bows set to Air and Ground in both farming and war bases.

X-Bows under construction act as if they are fully built during Clan Wars. This allows players to buy one before the war, but they cannot cancel its construction.

Offensive Strategy

The X-Bow has essentially no weaknesses unless it is set to ground-only mode, determinable by the way it is angled. If it is horizontal to the ground, it can target ground troops only. If it is tilted up, then it can attack air units as well.

The X-Bow can lock on to a unit for a very long time because of its long range. This means that placing the X-Bow neat the center can allow it to snipe at troops on the outer areas of your base. It also counteracts the effect of the Healer when set to Ground and Air mode. The X-Bow also counters the Queen Walk, a popular strategy consisting of the Archer Queen and Healers, with the help of other buildings.

In order to attack an X-Bow, treat it like a longer-ranged (and much stronger) Cannon or Archer Tower, but don’t forget that many units can be mowed down very quickly by this defense. Distract it with high-health troops like Giants or P.E.K.K.As, and destroy it with a large group of attackers such as Archersor Barbarians.

Attacking players can see if the defender’s X-Bow is loaded or not. Currently there is no way to tell exactly how much Elixir it has left, but a player can visually tell when it is empty. When it is loaded, you will see a small box containing what appears to be small Elixir bolts. An unloaded X-Bow will be lacking the box, and the bowstring will be missing (see image gallery below).

Attacking players can also see if the X-Bow is set to ground-only or both ground and air. Take advantage of ground-only X-Bows and send in air units to destroy it first.

An X-Bow that is empty is completely useless and will not fire. It still must be destroyed to achieve 100% destruction, and troops that preferentially attack defenses (Giants, Balloons, Hog Riders, and Golems) will still target an unloaded X-Bow if it is closer to them than an active defense.

Upgrade Differences

X-Bows undergo significant visual changes at levels 2, 3 and 4.

When initially constructed, the X-Bow consists of a huge crossbow-like structure mounted on a base made of light-colored wood. It has small black stones on the corners of the base.

At level 2, the X-Bow base gains gilded legs and rotational mount. It appears to have gold spikes on the corners.

At level 3, the X-Bow base becomes solid black with large black spikes on each corner.

At level 4, the X-Bow base becomes golden and the large spikes on each corner turn red, like they are glowing with heat.

At level 5, the X-Bow’s golden circular rim becomes bigger and now extends all the way to the floor. The stone foundation is now covered with a red casing, complete with a metal band around it. The red spikes at the edges of the foundation turns darker and more pronounced, while the tips of the spikes becomes black. The rectangular ammunition cartridge at the top of the X-Bow turns from wooden to golden in colour. The barrel now comes with a small golden tip, with a small golden spike flanking both sides.

In ground-only mode, the X-Bow has a range of 14 tiles, the second longest damaging defensive building (Eagle Artillery being the first) in the game (the Air Sweeper has a range of 15 tiles but it does no damage). When the X-Bow is in ground and air mode, however, it is tied with the Mortar with an 11-tile range (the Clan Castle, although not strictly a defense, has a trigger range of 12 tiles).

If measured by the area that its firepower can cover, a centered X-Bow covers approximately 616 tiles in ground-only mode and approximately 380 tiles in ground and air mode, beating the Air Sweeper’s 234.57 (approximate) tiles and the Mortar’s 330 tiles.

The X-Bow, at 7.8125 shots per second, is the fastest shooting turret in the game, along with the Inferno Tower.

The X-Bow was introduced in the Halloween 2012 update.

The name “X-Bow” is a play on the word “Crossbow”, which the device resembles. The letter “X” resembles a cross (十), leading to this abbreviated name.

In the Japanese and Korean localizations of the game, the X-Bow is called the “Large Crossbow.”

In both Chinese localizations of the game, the X-Bow is called the “X Crossbow.”

Supercell posted a teaser video on their Facebook page prior to the X-Bow’s release in October 2012: X-Bow Teaser Video

When the X-Bow is firing, you can see smoke coming out of it.

The X-Bow is similar to the ballista, an ancient Greek/Roman siege weapon resembling a crossbow.

The X-Bow will notify you when it is running low on ammunition with a bubble above it saying “Low Ammo”.

When first built, the X-Bow is already fully loaded with Elixir. Upgrading a X-Bow will also fully load it.

There is an achievement named X-Bow Exterminator whose objective is to destroy a certain number of X-Bows in multiplayer battles.

X-Bows under construction also count towards the X-Bow Exterminator achievement.

As of the October 2016 update, X-Bows that are being upgraded resemble unloaded ones to indicate base weakness more clearly. The same change applied to the Inferno Tower, Eagle Artillery, Spring Trap, and even the Air Defense (which has unlimited ammo) as well.

Prior to the update, all Traps (except the Spring Trap), the Archer Tower and the Wizard Towerwere already visually inactive when being upgraded.